Wednesday morning we woke up later than usual...at 7:30! We wanted to be at the bus stop by 8:15 am so Jim brought breakfast back to the room again and we were soon off to Hollywood Studios. It took the bus a while to pick us up so we were worried we weren't going to make it for rope drop. We had plans to ride Rockin' Roller Coaster first thing because we didn't have a fastpass for it. Thankfully we got there right after rope drop and were able to ride twice in a row...the boys and I first, then Jim took them a second time.
After that we split up. I took Lucas to see the Disney Junior show and Jim, Eric and Jacob went to ride Tower of Terror. Jacob chickened out right before it was time to get on so they came to meet Lucas and I after the show. At this time it had started to pour. Jim and Eric went back to ride Tower of Terror and Jacob, Lucas and I went to watch The Little Mermaid show.
Playing with the gold "coins" and streamers that fell from the sky during the Disney Junior show!
We had fastpasses for Toy Story Mania then found the line for Sorcerer Mickey....with only 2 other people in it! Perfect timing!!!
The rain was not letting up so we got out the ponchos and made our way to lunch. I picked up clam chowder in bread bowls for Jim and I and got nuggets for the boys. The quick service restaurant was packed with people trying to get out of the rain!!!
Lucas was not happy about wearing the poncho! He was happy to be wet!
Jim took Eric and Jacob to ride Star Tours with our last fastpass and we headed back to the resort.
Traditional picture with Jim and the boys in front of the tow truck at the front of the park.
By this time the rain had stopped so Lucas went down for a nap while I took the boys to the pool and did some laundry.
The boys decided they wanted to go back to Magic Kingdom to get another set of Sorcerer cards so we took the bus there, had dinner at Cosmic Ray's Cafe....half chicken meals with mashed potatoes and green beans for Jim, Jacob, Lucas and I and a cheeseburger for Eric. We got new cards, rode the Jungle Cruise then took the monorail to Epcot for dessert around the world.
We tried the Liquid Nitro Chocolate Truffle at the Chew Lab. It was 2 scoops of a truffle mousse that was dipped in liquid nitrogen then they cracked it with a hammer and drizzled a whiskey caramel sauce on top. It was soooo good! We also went to Belgium for a waffle with berry compote and a waffle with chocolate ganache.
The boys liked the pavers that lit up! It's so pretty at night!
Thursday morning we were up and at the bus stop before the sun came up. We had a pre-park opening breakfast at Be Our Guest at the Magic Kingdom. We pre-ordered our breakfast, so they gave us the "magical" rose and they brought our food out on the fancy carts. Eric and Jacob shared a croissant donut, Jim had an open faced bacon and poached egg sandwich and I had Eggs Florentine in a puffed pastry. We also ordered crepes and got a pastry platter. As usual, everything was fantastic!
So pretty...it's hard to see but outside the windows it looks like the snow is falling.
You can kind of see the cart our food came out on behind Jacob.
After breakfast we were first in line to meet Cinderella and Rapunzel...at my request. Then Jim and Lucas rode the carousel while I took Eric and Jacob to play another round of Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom. We rode It's A Small World together and met Chip and Dale in Frontierland.
Notice the boys are holding their ears...they do not like the Small World song!!!
Jim and Lucas watched Country Bear Jamboree while Eric, Jacob and I rode Splash Mountain.
Then we all took the boat to Tom Sawyer Island to explore. This is such a fun place!
Walking through caves
Shooting in the fort
We had
lunch...funnel cake, an ice cream cookie sandwich and root beer floats then headed to Animal Kingdom for the afternoon.
Lucas fell asleep in the stroller once we got to Animal Kingdom so Jim and I took turns riding Expedition Everest with Eric and Jacob. We explored the animal trails that we've never done before, which were pretty cool.
When Lucas woke up we went on Kilimanjaro Safaris. We saw quite a few animals...
We had dinner at Flame Tree BBQ...ribs and chicken, fries, onion rings, baked beans and corn bread. Lucas was too distracted by the ducks and birds walking around to eat and we were too busy chasing him around to remember to take pictures of our meal! HA
After dinner Eric, Jacob and I rode Kali River Rapids twice before the park closed. We were soaked but it was a nice break from the heat! We went back to the resort to swim before calling it an early night. Only one more day left in the park before we had to head home!
Friday morning we had a surprise breakfast planned at O'hana in the Polynesian Resort. This was a character breakfast with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto, dressed in their Hawaiian outfits. Eric and Jacob love Stitch and I knew he didn't meet in the parks anymore. They were very excited when we checked in and the hostess asked them if they were ready to meet Stitch!
Halfway through breakfast they invited the kids to join in a parade through the restaurant with the characters. Eric and Jacob didn't want to participate, but Lucas got up to go. Lilo tried to take Lucas's hand to walk but he wouldn't go with her. He turned around and was waiting for Mickey. He took Mickey's hand and walked the entire way with him! It was the best memory of the trip! So precious! Mickey gave Lucas a huge hug at the end of the parade!
It was a family style meal so they gave us a basket of cinnamon raisin and pineapple sweet bread, a fruit plate and a skillet filled with eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, biscuits and Mickey and Stitch waffles, which they refilled as much as we wanted. This was probably our favorite meal of the week.
After breakfast we took the monorail to Epcot. We used our rider switch passes for Soarin' and Test Track before walking through World Showcase for lunch. It was super hot this afternoon so the boys were a little cranky. We had plans to hit a few more food and wine booths but we ended up just going back to America for burgers and nuggets. I got a Mickey shaped soft pretzel with cheese sauce to share with Lucas.
After lunch we went to United Kingdom to meet Tigger and Pooh. This was one of the only character pictures that Lucas actually smiled for. All the rest he would walk up, give the character a hug, turn around and back up into their lap then look down or straight ahead with no expression on his face for a picture...meeting characters was very serious business to him I guess! We were happy to see the smile for Pooh!
Since it rained on our Hollywood Studios day, Eric and Jacob didn't get to see the Lights Motor Action show. We decided instead of taking a break at the resort that we would walk the path from Epcot to Hollywood Studios so they could watch the show. It was a nice walk through the Boardwalk Resort and by the water and only took about 20 minutes.
Lucas fell asleep in the stroller so I stayed outside with him while the boys watched the show. Then they decided to make their own light sabers before we headed back to the resort.
Yes, I decorated our hotel room window....its was Halloween, I wanted it to be festive!
We had a quick dinner at the food court before taking the bus to Magic Kingdom for the night. We had fastpasses for 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan and the Haunted Mansion. The park was packed and we wanted to get a good spot for the night parade so we ended up skipping Haunted Mansion. (no complaints from Eric or Jacob...they weren't crazy about riding it anyway) The boys and I saved a spot while Jim stood in a LONG line to get our Mickey Pants Kitchen Sink sundae! It was so worth it...such a fun dessert!
Playing with their Sorcerer cards to pass the time.
After the parade we had a special fastpass to view the Wishes Fireworks. It was nice to have a spot saved for us instead of packing in with the rest of the crowds. The projection show on the castle and the fireworks were really good.
We talked about trying to ride Space Mountain again after the fireworks but we were all tired so we made our way out of the park with the masses and waited about 40 minutes for a bus back to our resort....not bad considering the huge amounts of people leaving at the same time. We were back in our room at midnight and exhausted but it was a great end to our vacation!!!
Saturday morning was spent packing up and trying to fit all our stuff in 3 suitcases! Mommom Miller met us for lunch before we headed out on the Magical Express to the airport at 1:15pm.
Sad faces because we were going home :(
When we got to the airport, we found out our flight was delayed. Apparently our plane was coming from New Orleans, and hadn't left there yet due to mechanical issues. Thankfully they found us another plane and we only ended up leaving a 1/2 hour late. The plane ride home was much better than the plane ride on Sunday!
We had an awesome week and made some great memories!!!
